


I need the cookies, ok?

by FrostyJuniper



Category: Hamilton - Miranda, Hamilton - Miranda (Broadway Cast) RPF
Genre: Alex doesn't know what he's doing, But only like sorta and in the past, Daddy Issues, Eating Disorders, F/F, F/M, First Fanfiction, Hoping I did this right, Human Disaster Alexander Hamilton, I really need a Beta Reader, Issues, Literally just problematic people, M/M, Multi, Neither do I, Sorta slow burn?, adding in the children at some point, non-binary Lafayette, updates pretty frequently
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-18
Updated: 2019-02-10
Packaged: 2019-09-21 18:38:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,651
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17048492
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FrostyJuniper/pseuds/FrostyJuniper
Summary: Alexander meets someone at three am in a cookie shop one night. Life-changing? Maybe.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfiction, constructive criticism is welcome, please don't pile on the hate. If anyone would be willing to beta read, please contact me! If you would like a ship in here that doesn't use any of the already marked characters, please contact me.

Prompt: I know I keep coming to the cookie shop and for some reason it’s always your shift but don’t you dare judge me I need these for my sanity  
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It was three am, sane people were asleep and Alex was at the cookie store. In his defense, he hadn't meant to be there, bothering the employees. However, triple majoring was hard and he required food. In this case, that meant cookies. He had been standing outside for a while now when the first raindrop fell. Sighing, he opened the door, the bell tinkling pleasantly behind him. Running a hand through his hair (he had been too busy to find a hair tie that morning) he closed the door gently, standing awkwardly by the potted plants that graced the edge of the doorway. The menu looked interesting though, there was something called the Mocha Kerfuffle that sounded lovely. 

“Hello and welcome to Baking Your Day Better, how may I help you?” A surly looking cashier stood at the counter. Alex didn't pay much attention to him, he was trying his hardest to get the cookies and get out. Wasn't bad looking though, that much he had to admit.   
“Three Mocha Kerfluffles and your largest coffee please.” He wasn't interested in dealing with anything right now, he wanted his cookies and he wanted to leave. Actually making eye contact with the barista, his sleep-addled brain noticed something. Freckles. He had freckles, lots of them. Dotting his skin, they looked like-like grains of sand. He had a sandy face. Normally Alex was witty, smart, sarcastic. Now? Now this was the most hilarious thing in the world. Fighting back laughs, his face turned slightly red with the strain of keeping back the air. 

“Alright, that’ll be nine twenty, please wait in the seating area.” Plopping himself down onto a seat, he waited. And waited. And waited. When his food finally came, it was delivered by the same guy, who then immediately proceeded to walk away and pull his hair out of the hairnet, revealing curly hair that bounced around his face. Not like Alex was paying attention though. Not at all. Certainly not at the biceps that were revealed as he put his hair up in a ponytail. No way. He bit into a cookie, distracting himself. Hearing the running of the machine once more, he looked around. Had someone else come in without him noticing? Apparently not, as the man sat down at a table after pouring around three gallons of cream and sugar into his cup. After eating his first cookie, Alex left the store, ready to get back to work.  
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The next time Alex saw the man (According to the name tag, his name was John), it was daytime. To be specific, noon and Alex was dealing with a headache, the sunshine not helping at all. Walking into the door, he was greeted by the sight of someones face, vaguely familiar. Wasn't it- he cast his thoughts back to the last time that he was here, was this the same guy? As far as he could tell, yes. The change was astonishing though, gone was the annoyed expression. Instead, his face shone brightly with a smile as a softly lilted, french accented voice rang through the air. With the sunlight hitting him and a smile, the man- John, he corrected himself in his head- looked kinda like a movie star, to be honest. Making sure to not bump into the plants, he made his way to the counter, waiting for John to turn around.

"Hello and welcome, what can I get for ya?" Something he hadn't noticed was the slight southern accent, like someone was trying to strangle it below a pit of angry hobgoblins and it was just barely shouting out. His hair was just up in a ponytail this time, the light hitting the formerly dark brown hair and turning it to something more the color of spun caramel dripping out of a pot. 

"I'll have a dreamsicle and a large coffee, for here please. The name's Alex." It was pretty small and the lighting wasn't half-bad. He just had to find an outlet, then he was all set to write for the next who-knows-how-many hours. He had actually found a hair tie this time, so his hair was up in a ponytail/messy bun thing.

"Coming right up for ya, if ya-you want to have a wait in the seating area it'll be right over." Nodding, Alex began going to find a seat, trying to find one with an outlet. Scoring with a comfy armchair in the corner, he sat down, plugging in his okish MacBook. AS he opened it and typed in the password, the french accent called out "Alex?" It wasn't too obvious either, but the nasality and the tang on the end of the words made sure that Alex noticed it. Grabbing his cookie and coffee, he sat down and cozied himself into the armchair, getting ready to write his three political science papers and his one on the history of the government and how it was founded. It certainly was a comfortable place.  
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	2. It's been a week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been a week since Alex has come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, as stated before, this is my first fanfiction. Constructive criticism is appreciated, needless hate is not, literally just read last chapters notes, ok? Also, any comments or beta reading would be greatly appreciated!

It's been a week since Alex was at the cookie shop. It made sense, he was swamped with papers and deadlines and the occasional presentation. Trying to juggle three majors while trying to live a (vaguely) normal and healthy life had continued to be a problem. He tried his hardest, but work and school came above all else, especially considering that he was at an Ivy League school on a full ride scholarship. He didn't have friends, he didn't have enough time for them. Visiting family wasn't a problem however, considering that he had none. Breaking out of his (internal) monologue, he realized that he was at the cookie shop. He really needed to learn how to control that. 

Walking into the shop, he automatically moved out of the way of the plants and stood in the “line” at the counter. Might not have been fair to call it a line, as there was one person in front of him, but still. Who was the employee this time? He had only ever seen John and Frenchy, as he dubbed whoever had given him his coffee last time. It was John again, which was kinda stupid as he had been here three times and it had never been anyone else. Did John own the place or something? As the next person ordered her (presumably, he hadn't actually been there for the order) coffee, he stepped forward in line, he bumped into the slightly shorter women. Nothing big happened although a bit of her coffee(caramel, he could smell it from here) spilled onto the floor.

“Sorry!" It had been an accident, he smiled at her. Jeez, he really hadn't interacted with people his own age for a while now. Ever since he came to college around six months ago, he hadn't talked to many people other than (a couple of times) somebody sitting next to him and (quite often, if he counted raising his hand and speaking in class) the professor. This is when he realized that he had been standing there for a while, awkwardly blocking her way out. Black hair, brown knapsack on her back, she looked nice. “I didn't mean too, um, block you or anything, sorry.” 

“Oh no, it's all good.” She had a high tone, almost musical in quality. “I didn't realize anyone was standing behind me. I’m usually one of the only people in the store at this time so-” She cut off awkwardly, not wanting to ramble. "Do you come here often?" Being a fairly friendly and forward person(and also lonely), she figured it couldn't hurt to ask. What was the worst that could happen? She'd probably never see him again anyways, he didn't look like the type for cookies- or breaks at all, with those huge purple bags.

"Not usually, no." Compared to her, his voice was definitely rougher, almost like he had a sore throat, but the sore throat only affected him slightly and was treated with a bottle of honey. "I'm pretty slammed with homework and...stuff." He really didn't know what to say, but this woman had gone out of her way to talk to him, so returning the favor was usually expected. "I think it's my third time?" He let the question dangle in the air, quietly tapping his foot on the ground.

"Fun, are you here for studying or not, because if not then I would happily invite you to sit at my table if I'm not being too forward of course, that isn't my intention, I'm not hitting on you or anything, I just wouldn't mind some company." Alexander looked slightly taken aback at the outburst, especially since it was all finished in one breath. He smiled a bit, this was an interesting person. Sure, he wouldn't mind spending some time with her. 

"Why not? I don't have to study, just give me a second to order please." Turning to the counter (specifically to John, who looked very nice today with his hair in a ponytail under a baseball cap) he said "A Bizarro and a large coffee, for here please." Walking over to the waiting area, he sat next to the woman (he didn't actually know her name, he realized) and said "Name, pronouns and majors if you're studying here?"

"Ah, of course! My name is Elizabeth Schuyler, but Eliza is just fine. She/her pronouns. My major is developmental sciences, specifically psychology." She tucked a long strand of hair behind her ear, exposing two silver piercings that the light hit just right so that they shone brightly. "How about you?"

"I'm Alexander Hamilton, Alex is usually what I'm called. He/him and I'm triple majoring in Political Science, Communications and Economics. I'm looking for a degree in politics, so it made the most sense." Tapping his fingers on the corner of the table like he was unable to sit still, he smiled nervously. "I guess you can understand why I'm swamped most of the time, huh?" Just as he was getting ready to speak again, John's voice swept through the small shop. 

"Alexander?" He stood up, walking over to the counter. There was something off about the situation though, he hadn't given his name. Had John actually remembered him? Picking up his things, he walked back to Eliza, realizing she was packing up. "Have to leave?" He wasn't disappointed per say, just hoping that his awkwardness hadn't driven her away. 

"Ah, no, I realized I had a meeting with my sister. I'll be here around the same time tomorrow though, so just stop by. I come almost every day." She swung her knapsack onto her back, drunk the final swig of coffee, waved at Alexander and left. He smiled and sat down, taking out his laptop and getting to work on writing some essays that he did for fun.


	3. It's been a week

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eliza introduces him to her friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I've been trying to post every night and so far, I've been successful! For implementing a ship or being a beta reader, please contact me. Comments and kudos are always appreciated! Thank you!

Walking into the coffee shop tomorrow, he smiled as he saw Eliza's hair from behind. Tapping her on the shoulder, he said "Hey, what up!" He looked significantly less disheveled now, his hair washed and brushed into an neat bun at the back of his head. "I freed some time to come back and, ya know, talk."

"Alex! I didn't think that you'd actually come. I'm sorry for leaving like that yesterday, my younger sibling really needed some help on this assignment that they are doing." She smiled, looking like she had just conquered the world and won the title of empress using nothing but love, peace and kindness. She seemed like the human personification of holiday lights. "I'm pretty good, how are you today?"

"I'm pretty good, I'm a lot more on top of things now, which makes it easier to actually have some space in my schedule to go here. Still not doing great, but they make good coffee here so-" he shrugged "-I end up coming here a lot. Why do you come so often?" Eliza reminded him slightly of his mother, her sweetness, wit and even her smile drew similarities in body and personality. "It just seems like you're like here basically every day."

"I'm actually friends with the co-owners and most of the employees. I even worked a short stint here back when I had the time. It's a nice place and they even named a cookie after me and my siblings. Feels a lot like home at this point and, you know, the coffee is amazing!" Giving herself a small smile at that one, she looked back to Alexander, eyes crinkling slightly.

"The co-owners? Who are they? This might seem a weird question, but are you friends with the freckled one? He always seems to be on shift when I'm here. Along with Frenchy." He cursed himself internally for not being able to stop his rambling mouth. Did he seriously just call someone who might be Eliza's friend Frenchy? Frenchy?! He was an idiot.

"I think you mean John and Lafayette. See, there's Laf now, is that who you meant?" She pointed to a tall man? Person?, around 6'0 he would say with a big, poofy bun on the back on his head. Luckily, it was the right man, so at least he hadn't guessed the accent wrong. "And there's only one freckled one here and that's John. Once Herc gets back, you'll have seen all the co-owners. And yes, they are all my friends."

"I didn't mean to be disrespectful to either of them, I just remember faces and voices better than I do names. Those were the two I meant though, I didn't realize they were the co-owners. Do you come here to hang out with them?" He was curious about them and he wouldn't mind actually having someone to speak French too, so if Eliza was picking up what he was putting down that would be great. He did need friends.

Luckily, Eliza was a perceptive person and understood Alexanders (awkward) hinting. "Would you like me to introduce you guys? I wouldn't mind that, talking to them is always fun." Grabbing Alex's hand, she yelled(it didn't matter, nobody else was in the shop around this time anyways) "Hey Laf, John,mind if my new friend and I come behind the counter to talk?"

"No problem _mon ami_ , its all good! Nobody else here anyways!" The french accent seemed stronger now that the person was actually using French. However, he didn't have much time to ponder that as Eliza grabbed him by that hand and pulled him through the counter door. The person(Alex couldn't guess what gender at that point) moved over to them, sticking out their hand and saying "Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier de Lafayette, Marquis de Lafayette at your service. They/them pronouns please."

At that point, Alex barely heard the rest of the sentence, that name was a mouthful. How had they said it so quickly? Alex was used to using the singular they though so at least that wouldn't be hard. "Alexander Hamilton, he/him pronouns and a pleasure to meet you." He grasped their proffered hand, shaking it quickly as he smiled up at the stranger. " _Est-ce que tu parles français_?" He hoped he had actually gotten it right and that he wasn't Russian or German or something.

" _Oui. Étrange de trouver quelqu'un qui parle ma langue maternelle ici cependant_!" They looked happy, like Alexander had made their day just by speaking a few words in French. " _Où avez-vous appris la langue_?" 

" _J'ai grandi sur une île des Caraïbes, j'ai donc appris le français et l'espagnol. Je suppose que vous avez grandi en France à cause du titre royal et de tout le reste._ " Between them, Eliza and John looked on in wonder. John had shown up a while into the conversation, throughly engrossed in the melodic sounds of the so-called language of love.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter, Alexander and John finally introduce themselves.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, you know the drill. No flames please, comments and kudos are greatly appreciated and have fun reading! If you'd like to beta read or want a ship in here than contact me!

Turning around Alexander noticed John and Eliza standing there awkwardly. He hadn’t actually had a chance to look at the (admittedly cute) barista so close before and was again struck by the sheer magnitude. It seemed like there must be millions of them.

“I’m Alex. Alexander. It’s nice to meet you.” He stuck out his hand and stuck the other halfway into his pocket. Really, what did you do with your hands when introducing oneself? 

“John Laurens, it’s nice to meet you! I’ve only ever seen you come here so it’s nice to put a personality to the face.” Ok, ok, how to respond, how to respond…..

“I don’t intentionally only come on your shifts or days out of whatever, I just… need the cookies, ok?” And now he sounded aggressive. Fun. Talking to people was hard, he’d rather just curl up at home and read.

Luckily, John took it as a joke, letting out a brief chuckle before saying “I can fully understand that craving, Herc bakes the best things ever! To be honest, the Mocha Kerfluffles are my favorite too.”

“Herc? Is that the third owner of the shop?” Trying to remember, he looked at John again, struck by the way his dark brown locks shone in the— Ok, he needed to stop this right about now.

Lafayette broke in here, slightly sad at not being included in the conversation. “Yes, he is not only the third owner, he is also my boyfriend! You shall meet him soon, I am sure. Herc is at the-the-the place, the épicerie, the..” Words failed them here as they pleadingly looked over to Alexander for a translation.

“A grocery store. When is he coming back?” Curious was Alexander’s natural state of mind, he was curious about everything. Jack of all trades, master of none is better than a master of one was a de facto motto of his.

“It should be soon, though it might take him a while to carry them all out and in and all.” John almost always had a answer to everything question, whether they were good was debatable, but he always had at least one.

Eliza observed them all. She observed the sparkle in Laf's eyes when talking about Hercules, she observed the quick-building relationship between all three of them and she observed how Alex looked at John. He looked like he had never seen anything so captivating, fascinating, like he wanted to know everything about him and everyone in his life. It wasn't like Alex didn't usually look like that, when he was reading she had seen it, when he was writing she had seen it, to be honest, she'd seen it everywhere.

The distant thrumming of a car pulling up in the parking lot behind the store garnered some attention, mostly because it probably meant Herc was back. Which probably meant that they would finally get to introduce Alex to the final member(excluding Burr, he didn't really count) of the Rev Set. The door bell rung as the door was opened to reveal a medium sized man in a gray beanie, arms laden down with bags, standing at the door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I broke my streak. Unfortunately, I was in no condition to write with a 103(39 for the Celsius folks) degree fever. Uncomfortable to say the least. I am back now though and will resume daily or near-daily posting.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They meet Herc

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyo! Constructive criticism welcomed along with comments and kudos. Thank you to everybody who's reading this!

The man laughed as he stepped inside, big smile and warm personality radiated off him. “Hello everybody, how are y’all? I see we’ve got a new member, who’s this?”

Alexander stepped forward, a grin already quirking up at the side of his mouth. “Alexander Hamilton. It’s nice to meet you!”

“Hercules Mulligan, you’re welcome to call me Herc though!” He turned his head to Lafayette who had, at some point draped himself over Herc in a hug. Craning his head to give them a kiss on the cheek, he wrapped his arm around their waist. They were almost sickeningly in love.

“Herc, mon coeur, tu es de retour! Je vous ai manqué!” Alexander could understand everything and let’s be honest, wished he couldn’t. Just made him feel more lonely. Luckily, Eliza and John were in the same boat as him. 

“So, are we going to do some actually baking today? Alex, Eliza, feel free to help us!” Detangling themselves, the couple nodded happily. 

“I shall clean, we do not need my skills currently.” Laf picked up a broom and smiled, they seemed to prefer that.

“Skills? Babe, you once tried to make a pastry and it overflowed in the oven and we had to spend the next week taking basically pure baking soda and water combined out of the oven.” Herc grinned wider at that tid-bit of knowledge, the things that Laf actually did wrong(not many) were always the funniest.

“We don’t talk about that here.” Laf huffed and turned away, pouting.

“Either way, let’s wash our hands and get to work!” John was already taking out the ingredients as he spoke. “We need to make some basic sugar cookies to decorate, some Mocha Kerfluffles, they’re our most popular cookie and some Dreamsicles since we’re running low.”

Alex walked over to the sink, rinsing his hands and shaking them off quickly, too excited to actually dry his hands. “So, what are we doing first?” 

“Two cups of flour for each batch of sugar cookies so add six cups of flour to that bowl.” John handed him a bag of flour and a measuring cup. “Here.”

“Alright!” Alexander grabbed the bowl and started adding the flour, running the top of a butter knife along the top to level it out. 

“John, you doing Dreamsicles or Kerfluffles?” Herc called from the bag where he had some chocolate chips and coffee powder in one hand and orange juice in the other.

“I’m gon-going to do the Kerfluffles.” That was the second time John had changed his wording from the less formal to the more formal, even with his friends. There seemed to be something going on there.

“What next John?” Alexander had added six(pretty perfect if you asked him) cups of flour to the bowl. 

“Alright, add three cups of sugar and then six eggs.” John had somehow already done that all and was adding the coffee and chocolate already. Damn, the guy worked fast.

“Alright-“ he added one cup of sugar “three-“ the next plopped into the bowl “cups of-” and the last “cups of sugar!” He cracked an egg on the counter, wincing as it spilled all over the counter and, spicifically his pants. “Shit…”

“What happened?” John and Herc, practically synchronized, looked over and started giggling. “Not very coordinated with eggs are you Alex?” 

John walked over with some paper towels, wiping up the egg and tossing it into the trash that Herc was holding open with his foot. “Need some help?”

“Possibly.” Alex could admit that eggs were...not exactly his specialty. John grinned, easily cracking an egg with one hand and pouring it into the bowl without even a trace of eggshell. “How the heck?” Now that, that was a true skill.

“Years of practice, it does help a little bit. Here, try cracking it a little lighter this time.” John grabbed his hand, making sure that he didn’t smash it and Alex was uncomfortably or—not exactly uncomfortable was it, no, just very aware of how close John was to him.

“Are you going to crack it or just stand there?” John lightly tapped it against the counter to remind Alex that he was, in fact, meant to crack it. Had he made the little guy uncomfortable? Hopefully not.

“Oh- yah.” He gently tapped it against the counter and pulled it apart so that it slid in smoothly. “Like that?” 

“Yep! Do you need help with the other ones?” Alright, this was the moment of truth, did he feel awkward or had John done okish. There was no way he could do it perfectly after that mess, could he.

“Um, I'm not really sure, I don’t know exactly. Maybe? I guess I can try, but maybe just stay close?” He tried tapping it and while it didn’t smash this time, it didn’t crack… at all. Annoyed and impatient, he cracked it again and it spilled all over the counter.

“Patience is the weapon of the wise man. Maybe try it next time?” He smiled and asked “Need some help?”

“Patience is the weapon of the wise man, but action is reserved for the intelligent.” He grabbed the paper towel roll and mopped it off, throwing in the trash. “Alright, I subject myself to the help.”  
————————————————————  
Next time: They actually finish the cookies.


	6. Cookies!!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finish the cookies!

John stared at the offending object. What had he done to deserve this? Why had he thought that letting someone who had never baked before bake cookies was a good idea? Alexander was in the corner with a paper towel, guiltily mopping up the water that he had spilled on the floor. “How did you even manage this?” He asked, not exactly annoyed, but certainly amused. He did look such a sight, trying not to get cut by the shards of glass from the measuring cup while attempting to absorb the water with an already soaking paper towel. Plus, half of his shirt was wet and he could see the water dripping from his hair.

“Well, I was going to go and get the water to put into the cookies, like the recipe said, but I slipped on a shard of eggshell and I tried to brace myself, but I still had the thing in my hand so I threw it up and then it shattered, but I don’t think I got cut.” He didn't look injured, until you looked to the top of his right wrist, where two parallel lines, right under the bone were bleeding. Rushing over, John grabbed his hand. “What are you- Oh, I guess I did get cut. It doesn’t hurt though, so it’s probably fine.” 

“I’m going to respectfully disagree there, how ‘bout we get Laf in here to clean up this mess and get you cleaned up.” John was kneeling in the water, the sun from the window shining into his eyes. How had Alex not noticed them before, they truly radiated with the sun blazing into them, the depths of the green-brown(hazel, his mind supplied) iris’s made them looked like a forest with the sunlight dappling the leaves. “Alex? Did you go into shock? I can call the doctor if that’s necessary.”

“Oh no, I'm fine. Just thinking about something.” That much was true, though waxing poetic about his eyes was probably not what John was guessing. “It’s starting to twinge a bit, is there any chance I could get a bandage or something? If that's not too much to ask for?” Nodding, John stood up, offering Alex a hand. “Thanks.” Walking them to the bathroom and sitting Alex down firmly on the toilet lid, he grabbed the disinfectant and a roll of gauze. 

“I think we should go to the ER with this, they might want to glue it or something.” Dipping the cotton swabs into the rubbing alcohol he set them aside, preferring to check the wound for any stray pieces of glass first. It seem like there was anything, so he carefully swiped the swab across the wound. “Sorry.” Alex had winced, it seemed like the wound went deeper than he had thought. Putting a cotton round directly over it, John wrapped the hand precisely, cutting off the flow of blood. 

“I don’t need the doctor, I’ll be fine. How did you learn to do this all so well?” The wrapping looked neat, almost like he had been to the actual doctors instead of being wrapped up in John’s bathroom.

“I studied for a nursing degree before I opened the shop. I think you won’t have to go to the ER which is good.” He meticulously finished it up and called “Laf! Laf! Could you clean up the broken glass in the kitchen before we put the cookies in the oven?”

The French-accented person called back “Herc already put them in the oven. I can sweep up the glass though. What happened?” 

“Alex fell and cut himself. All good though.” Helping Alex up, he sat him carefully. “It should stop bleeding soon. How bout you sit down on the couch and we bake the cookies?” Nodding, Alex did exactly as said, savoring the delicious smell.


	7. Eliza observes

Alexander Hamilton had a problem. A pretty big problem if he said so himself. This wasn’t fair either, he wasn’t supposed to (finally) find some friends and then all of a sudden he likes one. Like...like likes one. He massaged his temples, he was sitting at home, in his bedroom, thinking about all the mistakes he had committed. First, he decided, was deciding to develop a school boy crush on this guy he’d known for literally two days, if you didn’t count the amount of times that he had seen him at the shop. He needed guidance. He needed support. He needed...Eliza. Calling her on his flip phone(because who needed all that fancy shit) he waited for two rings until Eliza picked up.

“Alexander? What’s wrong.” She sounded concerned and Alex could practically see her face in his mind's eye. Sweet, worried, wrinkle lines on her usually blemish free forehead. “Do you need help with something?”

“Can we meet up? I have something to talk about with you.” He knew he sounded weird, but he didn’t really know what to do and Eliza would probably know. Also, she was one of his only friends.

“Sure, where? Right now?” 

“Umm, maybe at Madison Square Park?” That was close enough to his apartment.

“Sure, I’ll make my way over there.”

He walked to Madison Square Park, humming a song on the way. The new art installation there was nice, though the statues weren’t all his favorite. He already saw Eliza at the park and a slight drizzle was starting. 

“Hey, Eliza.” He sat down on the bench next to her, smiling awkwardly.

“Alex? What happened, are you alright?” She looked just as Alex had thought, worried and beautiful. Beautiful, but not—him. 

“I think I like one of our friends and I don’t even know if I can call him a friend yet and I’m confused.” He sat down on the bench, wasting no time with things like breathing or not getting his coat wet with the rain on the bench.

“Who? Why? You like guys?”

“John. I’m not a hundred percent sure, but he’s just so nice and also pretty hot and I dunno. And yes, I like guys, do you have a problem?”

“I knew it! I don’t have a problem with you liking guys, no worries.”

“Ok, ok, good.” He let out a deep breath, he was practically trembling and the bags under his eyes were more pronounced than ever.

“Have you been getting enough sleep?” She already knew that the answer was no, but one could always hope.

“What d’ya think? Do I look like I’ve been getting enough sleep?” He didn't say it meanly, just sarcastically. 

“No, you don’t. Has this been bothering you so much?” She hoped that was it, was it too much to hope?

“Mostly this, but this rain and these storms aren’t helping at all.” He dragged a hand over his face, clearly exhausted.

“Ah. You should go home and get some sleep, you’ll die at this point. I’ll walk you home?” That was the best that she could do.

Alex nodded at that, and they stood up, even though the round, black tile was slippery, they (narrowly) avoided falling. Walking home, she noticed some more things. The errant five dollars Alex would put into a homeless person's cup, even though she knew he couldn’t spare it. The amount of times that he stopped to yawn. The way his legs trembled like they couldn’t support his weight. He needed someone to take care of him, and until someone else filled that position, Eliza would be happy to. Not romantically, she felt like his mothr most of the time. He was so small, so fragile. (Pot calling the kettle black, she thought to herself.)

She would text him later in the day to see if he wanted any food. She had already dropped Alexander off, and was back home, too engrossed in her thoughts to notice. Sitting on the bright red couch, she absentmindedly petted Bosse, her cat that came in. She had already fed them this morning, so she stood up and went to the kitchen. The house felt so alone ever since Peggy had left to go move in with Adrianne. A bitter laugh escaping her, she realized what it was. She was lonely. Lonely and now that she had found someone else to mother hen, she was taking it in stride. 

She wanted to—no, needed to do something, anything to get her mind off her feelings. She needed to bake. Sugar, flour, cocoa powder, chocolate chips and heavy cream. She followed the steps absentmindedly, at least it gave her something to do. Twenty and already a cat lady. Emil, Lotta and Bosse were her hearts though, they made it bearable. 

And of course, she wasn’t even out to her family. That was a minefield she wouldn’t even touch yet. Did she have too? Knowing that Dad was already worried about not having a suitable heir for the company from Peggy, knowing that she liked girls- only girls, wouldn’t make him disappointed per say, maybe just stressed. Poor Angelica too, bearing the brunt of having the children on herself.


	8. Chapter 8

John slumped into his chair. He couldn’t draw like this. He had to finish his commissions, but they obviously weren’t happening, not with the drawings that he was producing. Disproportionate, weird, flat out not what they had asked for. He was way too distracted for this, too distracted with big brown eyes and a five o’ clock shadow. Which was, again, not what he should be thinking about. He groaned internally, this sucked. He needed to pay his bills and he wouldn’t ever be able to do that without commissions. Especially considering the job that he currently had. Don’t get him wrong, he loved working at the cookie shop, he loves founding it, but it didn’t make much money. 

He stood up, cracking his back slowly. Maybe he could go on a walk, clear his brain enough that he could think. He needed to be able to think. He wasn’t getting many commissions, he had to make them- Uh-uh. Not thinking about it. He was going to take a nice walk in the rain, maybe go to his favorite chinese place and, most importantly, stop thinking about Ale- not even his name. He wasn't twelve, this shouldn't be hard to get over. He was twenty-two, goddammit! Twenty-two years old and acting like a fool, all because of some boy he had met, what, a couple of days ago? Was he in some sort of bad sitcom? Just because he liked the guy a little didn't mean anything. He was straight. He was just confused. Alex looked like a girl so his brain was obviously confused, he wasn't gay. He wasn't gay. He couldn't be. All the while, there was a little nagging voice in his head, one that he was disgusted with that told him that he was lying to himself. “I'm straight.” Maybe if he said it enough, maybe his brain would be convinced too. 

Meanwhile, Aaron Burr was thinking about life. He was thinking about Theodosia, thinking about how he hoped that calling off the marriage worked when he, out of his apartment heard shouting. Now, this was a common occurrence in New York City, so he wouldn't have paid any attention to it, if it hadn't been right outside his window. Gritting his teeth, he opened the window to tell them to shut up, when he saw the guy who lived a floor below him kicking some woman on the street.  
(Right about here is triggering language)  
“Nasty, dirty whore. Do you open your legs for anyone who looks at you? No wonder you’re the slut of the city. Don't ever come back here again, you filthy bitch.”  
He hissed, his hooked nose twitching. That was all the information Burr needed on him, so he turned his head to the woman. Her red pants had a huge gash in them and both her head and her leg were bleeding. He calmly waited until the man (Jerold? James? John?) was back inside and got his coat on, with the first aid kit in the inside pocket, as always. This was, aside from the affair, the most reckless thing he had done in years and he wasn't sure why. Maybe it was because he knew how it felt to be the one out on the street. He would have time to psychoanalyze later, now his priority was the girl. He stood about seven feet away from her, not close enough to grab her, so that she would feel safer, but close enough to talk comfortably. 

“Hello there.” Starting off simple would be good, she didn't need another imposing male in her life, that was sure to scare her even more. Up close, he could see the bruises better. Throat, ribs, leg. As he expected, she didn’t speak. 

“Would you like to speak to me?” She shook her head no. This was all going by what he had judged so far. This one was tricky, but he assumed she would say yes. 

“Would you like to get off the street?” Short, simple questions were important. Not too much information to analyze. She seemed to consider before shaking her head no again. Alright, that one was a surprise. He carefully kept his face in a neutral, (hopefully) kind smile. 

“Do you need help?” The first nod that he had seen. Should he call Eliza? She was the most non-threatening person he knew. 

“I have a friend who can help you. May I call her?” She looked… almost confused. You could tell she was nervous from her body language, she hadn't stopped trembling the whole time, though that was to be expected. Finally, she nodded yes. He made every effort to keep his posture as un-threatening as humanly possible as he called Eliza. 

She picked up on the first ring and asked “Aaron?”

“Eliza. I have someone who I believe is a domestic violence victim. She’s very scared of me, but seems to have consented to seeing a woman. Can you help me?”

This wasn't a time for Eliza to be thinking about it, she decided. Pulling on a coat and as an afterthought, bringing another for the woman, she was already out the door when she asked Aaron the most important question. “Where are you?” 

“635 West 42nd Street. Thank you.” Keeping his smile on his face, he said “She’ll be here soon.”

Soon enough, Eliza was there with a coat tucked under one arm, looking slightly out of breath. Bending down, she wiped the hair out of her face and looked around, stopping at the (unfairly attractive, which she reminded herself, was not the point) beat-up woman.

“Um, hey there? I'm Eliza, what’s your name?” 

Wasn’t a bad thing to start out with in Aaron’s opinion, it might make her feel more comfortable with Eliza to know her name. A strange expression crept onto the woman’s face, she looked terrified, but she wasn’t shaking as much anymore. Being a rainy day, nobody was really around the streets to see them, in fact, it was the most empty he had ever seen New York City. 

“Maria.” It was quieter than a whisper, hidden under the pattering raindrops, but it was a start. 

“Maria? That’s a nice name. Are you cold? I have a jacket, though it might not fit you, I’m not the tallest.” Keep your calm Eliza, remember what to do in these situations. Small steps. Small everything. As non-threatening as possible.

Maria nodded, raising a trembling hand to take the coat. She looked at it for a moment before shakily standing up, obviously wincing and putting on the coat. 

“What are you going to do to me?” It was a bit stronger, you could hear the lilt of her voice semi-clearly. 

“Nothing? Well, I was thinking about checking if you needed to go to a doctor, and maybe getting you dried off, but I’m not planning to- I’m not going to hurt you.” Was that too much information at one time? Maybe, but Maria looked like she understood. Let’s hope she did.

She had fully stood up now, the bruise on the side of her face painfully evident. It looked like she was moving towards them, limping on her now obvious broken leg and then she looked around, and dashed (not exactly dashed; more like hobbled) in the other direction. The other two stood there for a good five seconds, shocked, before Eliza said

“Should I go after her? You might scare her.” 

“Yes. Update me.”

Eliza looked a bit strangely at his commands, considering he didn't really say anything set in stone...ever, to be honest. However, she decided that helping Maria might be more important and so she walked after her at a quick pace, waiting until she saw her other blue coat from behind, so she slowed her pace, waiting until Maria stopped and she could talk to her.  
“Maria?”

Today wasn't the best day for Maria, she had fucked up, she had fucked up bad. It was all her fault, she had been such a bad girlfriend. She should have let James, she should have done what he said, instead she talked back, James had told her not to do that, she should have listened to him, he was the only one who would ever love her, he was doing her a favor by caring about her. She should be back there, apologizing, making sure he’d take her back, he was the only one who would ever care. These people didn't want to help her, these people wanted to hurt her, why did she even leave the apartment in the first place, they would hurt her. But- was James right? Were these people evil? She stopped, the adrenaline had basically fully worn off and she counted the injuries she knew about. Her leg was definitely broken and her ribs were bruised, as far as she could tell. Maybe one was broken? It was fading into a haze of pain. She touched her shirt, under the coat and felt something wet. She pulled her fingers away, looking at the red coating her fingers, it looked like the red KoolAid she drank as a child. And all of a sudden she heard her name spoken in a panicked voice. She looked over and there was the woman, looking slightly out of breath.

“Maria?” She said again. Everything was getting fuzzy, there were dots around her vision and the rain was pelting down onto her and she faded out, falling backwards. 

Elia wasn't sure what was going on, one minute she was looking at Maria, who was standing there, looking at blood on her fingers and the next, Maria is falling onto her. She pulled out her phone and texted Aaron, asking him to come down the street about a block and to bring the first aid kit.

Aaron's phone dinged. He looked at it calmly, reading over the text carefully before putting on his “proper” coat, grabbing another umbrella and walking down the hallway, and then the block at a normal pace, completely unhurried. Once getting down about a block, he saw Eliza and Maria, the latter draped over the former who was obviously struggling not to fall over. Once he got there, he took her other arm carefully over his shoulder and listened to Eliza.

“She was standing there and Aaron, she's bleeding somewhere and she just fell, she fell right over just onto me, what are we going to do?”

“I assume we are going to bring her to a doctor and then offer her a place to live. She won't take it, so then we at least pay for a home that she can live for now.”

“How do you know that she won't take it?”

“Because she's too scared. Trust me.”

They were already halfway to the nearest doctor and they walked the rest of the way in silence, Eliza mulling over what Burr’s words meant.  
They came to the doctor and opened the door, hearing the bell jingle. They were counting on the small business and the fact that it was raining outside to secure them an open spot. Luckily, they got one and went into the doctor's office without filling out a single form, which made Eliza a bit worried. 

“Aaron, why aren't they asking us for forms?” She whispered.

“Because this isn't technically a licensed medical practice. That's why we got a good spot.”

“Do you trust them?”

“Trust is foolhardy. They will do.”

Eliza sat back, skeptical. However, when they got Maria back, she looked fine and bandaged up, but still unconscious.

“She’ll be out for a while more, she lost half a liter of blood and that, combined with the pain knocked her out, but she’ll be fine.”

They took her back out into the rain, she was a good six inches taller than Eliza, so Burr was supporting her the most. 

"We'll bring her back to your place, as her significant other lives in my building."

"What do I do when she wakes up?"

"Calm her the best you can. She'll be disoriented and scared, she might have a panic attack, but either way, let me know."

They got her to Eliza's house without much incident, laying her down carefully on a pull out couch as Eliza sat in the comfy armchair next to the couch and read her book.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments, kudos and constructive criticism are always welcome!


End file.
